5 Ways to Start a Home Based Business With No Money

Running a home-based business is certainly growing in popularity with almost one million people running a business from home in Australia. It’s no wonder this statistic is growing, the flexibility a home-based business can afford is very attractive to families. But a concern I regularly hear in my job as a loans specialist is, “I have a great business idea but how do I start a home-based business with no money?”

The good news is that there are a number of options for starting a business with little to no cash flow.

Options for starting a business with no cash

Sell on Gumtree

You’ve probably got loads of things lying around your house that you don’t use anymore, things that would be an absolute treasure to someone else. Make an inventory of all the things you can sell, set aside some time to photograph them, sign up for a free account on Gumtree, upload your items and wait for the phone calls to flood in! At the end of this exercise, you’ll likely find yourself with a good amount of cash to put towards things like a website or marketing material.

Turn your skills into services

Do a brainstorming session and think about the things that you’re good at that you could turn into services for other people, services people will pay for. Perhaps you’re crafty and great at making things, perhaps you love organising parties or you have in-demand virtual assistant skills – these all have potential.

When it comes to selling these services, there’s little to no capital required, unlike selling a product. If you’re keen to sell a product, perhaps you could offer your services in order to build some cash flow to purchase the products. Websites like Airtasker or Upwork are the perfect platform to advertise your skills and apply for jobs.

Make do

When you have little to no cash but want to start a business, sometimes you just have to push perfection to the side and make do. What I mean by this is, if you’re dreaming of having an amazing website with logos and marketing material to match, you have to compromise until you have the funds to do so.

Consider using websites like Fiverr.com where you can have a logo made for $5 and websites like Airtasker where you can have a website made for a fraction of the cost. It might not be what you dreamt about but it is all you need to get your business off the ground in the start-up stages.

Apply for a business loan

Perhaps your business idea is one that does require money to get started, there are products and equipment you need to purchase. Before you head to the big banks consider approaching a small business loan broker. As a business loan broker, we consider your individual circumstances, search the market for the best options and then tailor a business loan to suit your needs. Banks, on the other hand, will try to fit you into one of their packages and that doesn’t always work out, you’ll often find yourself in the ‘too hard’ basket.

Promote your business for free

Little to no cash to start a business doesn’t mean you can’t market your business. Tell your friends and family about your business and get them to spread the word. Promote your business on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You could even use a free video maker like Lumen5 to make your social media posts really gain people’s attention. Depending on what your business is, approach local newspapers and offer your expertise for free in return for exposure. There are so many ways to promote your business without it costing you money.

So what are you waiting for! Starting a home-based business with no money IS doable, all you need to figure out now is when you’re going to start. If you’re finding the change a little intense, read this post about navigating a career change for some helpful tips.

12 Comments

Create a free online workshop teaching people some tips on blogging where they need to register to attend and then introduce a paid course st the end of the free workshop

Jenny England

February 27, 2017 / 12:02 pm

Cut back on all my luxuries (not that I have many) and put the money aside in an account that earns interest and bonus interest and take it out when there is enough. The perhaps I’d try to win a coles gift card to help with the groceries!

Jeremy Tang

February 27, 2017 / 12:53 pm

Great

Tamika

February 28, 2017 / 11:47 pm

Offer one of my children to mow lawns, joking. Go through my house and take opportunity to declutter and sell my once loved items to help support a new love.

Loan T

March 2, 2017 / 6:16 pm

I would spring clean for cash :). Any clothing, shoes, home-ware and everything in-between that I don’t use can be sold and create some cash flow for my new business.

Reva

March 7, 2017 / 11:44 am

I’m a little bit of a hoarder when it comes to shoes and clothes, so I would go through them and part with some of them by selling them on Gumtree, eBay, Shedd, Depop, Carousell or Facebook marketplace. I would also have a look on Airtasker which is an amazing website for making money doing odd jobs such as cleaning, administrative work or gardening etc. Lastly, I would also reduce my everyday expenses. For example, I will instead travel to work via bicycle instead of using public transport, electing to buy homebrand groceries instead of better known brands which tend to be more expensive, making my own instant coffee instead of getting takeout coffee and quit my gym and do home workouts from YouTube instead. I am confident that all these collectively will be a good starting point to generate starting capital and increase my cashflow.

Perihan Bozkurt

March 7, 2017 / 7:28 pm

I’d write some creative stories to sell to magazines for publication and on radio. I like telling stories and they pay well if you are published..

andrew brown

March 7, 2017 / 8:42 pm

Sell knowledge on ebay..its a renewable resouce..think! …I can make a thick stock that can be stored in the freezer in a jug that you just take out and pour…make a water fountain for the garden that requires no power, permanently remove mould from leather jackets..take the white crazing off your car’s paintwork…experiment, do research..if everyone gives you $5 or $10 for your ideas you’ll have plenty of cash to seed your business

HI. My business is cleaning homes. I started with enthusiasm, effort, experience..Easy and no expenses. I advertized on Gumtree. Have seven local cliental. I love it! One small example of small business for single mum thats given me confidence and cash 🙂

Bella Ri

March 11, 2017 / 6:41 pm

I’d put one of the many ideas I have and turn it into real life! I’d make my dreams come true and winning this $50 gift card would make that first essential step! I’d use Ebay and Gumtree to get a kick start and work as hard as I can to make my online business successful!

Tuan Nguyen

March 13, 2017 / 4:46 pm

As an artist, I paint and draw for a living. Creating awareness through ‘word of mouth’ through my ‘social network’ (like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn) showcasing my works would help take my inspiration from zero to ‘go’ and to grow my following from there!

Dianne

March 13, 2017 / 9:21 pm

Honestly, I don’t know what I would use it for, there are a multitude of ideas in my head. Maybe Id make a pinup board of them and stick a pin through it and play pin the $50 note on the idea 🙂

Hi! I'm Eva, a busy mum of two young children, small business owner, digital marketing geek and mental health advocate.